Grandparents, Good Ancestors, Guns, and School Days

This morning, August 29, we sent our grandchildren off to school. One in fifth grader and the other a sixth grader beginning his adventures in middle school. The beginning of the school year is like the change of seasons. For over forty years, I defined my life as a university chaplain and professor and seminary professor and administrator in terms of late August, and the excitement of new possibilities.

For the past few years, I have had another experience as my grandchildren begin school, that of, concern for their safety. In the wake of Parkland, Uvalde, and Sandy Neck, it is impossible to deny that “it can happen here,” even in upper middle class suburban schools.

Prior to Covid, I regularly tutored reading at our grandchildren’s elementary school. On my way to school and when I was buzzed into the building, I rehearsed what I might do if there were an active shooter in the building. While I am not inherently a risk-taker, I visualized how I might disarm an active shooter or protect the children in their classrooms. I also pondered, since my grands had classrooms near one another, which classroom I might initially protect. A type of Sophie’s Choice situation.

That I had to consider such options always gave me pause. Shouldn’t I simply tutor with no thought of such contingencies? In what world, in what nation, do we have to juxtapose schools and gun violence? What’s wrong with a nation that privileges the ownership of lethal weapons – automatic weapons - over children’s welfare?

I am glad for the small achievements of Congress related to gun safety. But, they are barely a first step, and the suggestion that teachers be armed or that armed guards patrol schools angers me. We need to get to the root of the problem, not band aide and useless solutions. We also need to realize based on Uvalde and Parkland, as well as line of fire statistics, that under pressure law enforcement cannot ensure the safety of children. Good people with guns can be just as ineffective – and often more dangerous – than the current school security measures. Moreover, unless teachers wear guns as sidearms, which creates a variety of safety hazards, the placement of guns in desks, separated from ammunition, is impractical and will not stop an active shooter. Such suggestions are sound and fury signifying nothing.

Let me be clear, there is no relationship between God and gun ownership! Full stop, end of discussion. Followers of Jesus may own guns for hunting or personal protection, but to assume any connection with faith is delusionary. The pro-gun movement in the USA is, in fact, idolatrous and dare we say, anti-God insofar as it asserts that only guns can be our safety and salvation.

Americans will always own guns. No one is seeking to bar firearms for hunting, competitive shooting, or in-home protection. But, simply put, no private citizen should possess anything more than a side arm or rifle. A buy back program and stiff penalties for possession of multi-round weapons should be enacted. It’s simply a no-brainer for those who want to support the wellbeing of our nation’s children.

I know that such a proposal is impractical at the moment. It would take a progressive wave in Congress, with sixty progressive seats in the Senate. But the idolization and support of automatic weapons ownership is not politically discrete. The majority of gun-idolators also support voter suppression, restrictions on reproductive rights, denial of teaching accurate USA history, climate change denial, and (quite possibly) election denial, along with opposition to universal health care, religious diversity in the public square, and LGBTQ+ rights. Sadly, the majority of these persons also claim to be orthodox Christians. Elections matter, voting matters, and despite disappointments we may have with progressive politics, a progressive wave is our only hope to radically decrease violence in our schools and other aspects of our society.

So, I begin the school year with hope and ambivalence, with excitement and concern, and choose to let my ambivalence motivate me to seek solutions that provide greater safety for our children and ensure the wellbeing of our nation and the planet.

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Bruce Epperly is a theologian, pastor, spiritual guide, and author of over sixty books, including TALKING POLITICS WITH JESUS: A PROCESS PERSPECTIVE ON THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT; PROPHETIC HEALING: HOWARD THURMAN’S VISION OF CONTEMPLATIVE ACTIVISM; MYSTICS IN ACTION: TWELVE SAINTS FOR TODAY; and 101 SOUL SEEDS FOR PEACEMAKERS AND JUSTICE-SEEKERS. He may be reached at drbruceepperly@gmail.com.